


Friends Again

by mangopop



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Adam & Barabara Maitland, BJ becomes like Lydia's smelly uncle or brother lmao, Beetlejuice and Lydia work on their friendship, Body Horror, Bugs & Insects, Charles & Delia Deetz, Charlies & Delia, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Some Cursing, Some Timeskips, They talk about how Lydia killed Beetlejuice, Trauma, bug eating, but i won't go into detail don't worry, depictions of blood, like in future chapters they do touch up on juno's abuse a little, some violence, talks of child abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:21:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25433041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangopop/pseuds/mangopop
Summary: It had been months since her face off against the ghost with the most, it ending on a very mixed note for Lydia. But, the events won't leave her dreams, and she is slowly coming to terms with her suffering from trauma because of her actions. Would it lead to her confronting them, and in turn, seeing the source of it all once more?
Comments: 15
Kudos: 27





	1. Reoccurring Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of my first Beetlejuice fic. Also no beta. I haven't posted one of my fanfics in like ten years, so, hope it's good! I decided to rate this as M just in case because body horror will be coming in later in the fic.
> 
> More notes at the end.

Eight long months had passed since Lydia finally decided to open herself up more to her father again. Along with accepting Delia as being apart of their new, weird, happier family. Lydia definitely saw the Maitlands as part of that family with how much they've done to help her, her father and her recently made step-mother. She would've been surprised with how fast those two had gotten married after the engagement if it wasn't for the whole near death experience by angry demon thing. They figured after that life was short, especially compared to the Maitlands and got married only a few months after they finally were settled in. Unfortunately for poor Lydia, the nightmares she had after her clash with her demon ex-friend still clung to her. They started about two weeks after everything happened. It was enough time for Lydia to let things sink in about what they did and even if he deserved it, how she killed a person. They happened almost every night, then every other night, and by month four had stopped. Then the month after they started up again and even though Delia tried her hardest, she just couldn't help with Lydia's mental health deteriorating again. So she began to see a family therapist. She had to leave out some details for obvious reasons and changed the story a little, but it was only helping so much. Every time she would recount the nightmare in vivid detail to her therapist.

_'Everything around her was distorted, like it was the inside of a funhouse mirror. The colors around her varied from a mix of eerie, bright and ghoulish colors to more monotone colors blending into each other. Her heart was thumping into her chest as everyone played the part that she had given them. I'm doing the right thing, he won't stop. He's a demon so it's okay! That's all she was able to think about to justify her actions. The joy of being alive after their 'green card' marriage soon came crashing down onto the dirty recently revived Beetlejuice as he went off on one of his tangents. Going on about the mixed emotions of humans that were overwhelming him all at once. He started getting a look in his eyes, going straight to murderous thoughts just as she knew he would. Her breathing picks up as she grabs onto the broken piece of rebar from the poor taste of art that her father hands to her. She fixes her footing and screams as she plunges the make-shift weapon through the back of the demon, screaming as she used all the force she could muster. Everything becomes distorted around her after that; everyone else becoming shapeless blobs. Except for the dying Beetlejuice who stares off like he's gazing at an unknown force. In typical fashion he cracks a joke with his dying breathe. The blobs were all shocked at the action until Lydia told them why she did it. They started to move in an off-putting way to get ready to be rid of him when he would rise as the recently deceased._

_Before it could play out just as it did in reality everything went black around her. Terrifying mouths appeared into the view everywhere she looked. The adrenaline that spiked when she stabbed him now was replaced from anxiety to dread as blood poured out from the mouths. Their laughter echoed with twisted and distorted voices. The blood swallowed up the demon before her. She tried to wade through the blood in vain trying to reach him as fear engulfied her._

_"No... NO! Beetlejuice-!"_

_It's not supposed to be like this; he's supposed to go back to the netherworld, he's supposed to be okay! Everyone is supposed to be okay! She reached out, crying out his name in an attempt to save him,_

_"Beetlejuice!" She saw his body surface in the sea of crimson. It was carrying him further and further from her as her dress became heavier with every passing second. Blood coated her face as she kept an outstretched arm to try and grab onto him._

_A cackle echoes from the darkness as a giant hand pulled him out of the blood, belonging to a woman she only was briefly introduced to. It was his mother, the head demon in charge of the more bureaucratic side of the Netherworld. Juno. His body is still, lifeless now, his hair color changed to a purpleish-blue._

_" **BEETLEJUICE** !" She screams one last time. A giant sand worm jumps out of Juno's mouth and eats both the demon she cried out for, and herself. Then she wakes up.'_

Well, at least she would partly tell the truth. She left out a lot of key details from her nightmare when talking about it, such as marrying a centuries or millennia old demon as a green card thing to bring him back to life. About ghosts in general. Lydia had to switch many things around, along with the murder. The story changed to her having a horrible fight with an old friend who she 'stabbed him in the back'. More metaphorically than in actuality being physically. Talking about her trauma to anyone outside of the family was really difficult. Which is why she didn't see the point to seeing a therapist in the first place. Thankfully most of the facts could be turned into metaphors with some hoop jumping. She finally got the story 'straight' with her family prior to opening up. What she would tell the therapist is she betrayed a friend who had mental health problems and was threatening her family. She told them she called the cops on him and made it out that his abusive mother beat the shit out of him. Then shipped him off to military school instead of him going to juvey. The therapist took the strange nightmares she would have as a vivid imagination of her guilt of betraying someone she thought as her friend before. She wasn't even that close to him, they only spent a few days together and she was more focused on seeing her mother again. Yet killing the man is something that made her stomach turn when she thought about it again. It was different than the thrill of scaring people with him from before. Sure he was 'fine' in the sense of he was just back to square one of being a ghost and a demon again. However she still took something away from him that was bigger than she thought before. Life. Even if it did make him go crazy after being alive for less than five minutes.

He didn't seem too bothered by it when he left following his melodramatic farewells. After feeding his scary mother to a giant sandworm of course. He seemed a little happier, even. Unfortunately she never really got true closure. Sure she gave him a small hug, even though that was a little hard because he smelled so bad. It was probably his clothes since the man looked like he never washed a thing in his life. After a two months of seeing them, her therapist suggested that maybe all she wants is closure to her traumatic experience. The therapist didn't recommend actually going to visit her 'friend' in case it would be too overwhelming for her. A phone call or something was suggested if she thought she wanted to talk to him. Tell him how much of a jerk he was before and how he took things too far. Tell him how she felt bad about the way she ended things. That was going to be complicated though for a number of reasons.

One, even if she did want to go back to the Netherworld which she definitely didn't. It was just like when she had her realization it would take possibly eternity to find her mother. What luck would she have finding Beetlejuice? Two, even though she saw him comically swing his mother's torn leg around after he took her out. What's to say she still wasn't 'existing' and back running the netherworld's social services for the dead. Or whatever it was she did. She didn't want to come face to face with that horrid woman again. She wasn't even sure if demons could die still and she had to have been a demon just like Beetlejuice. Sure she got eaten but once again she could've somehow came back. Three, her family would NEVER let her go back in there. Four was the most important though; did she even want to _see_ him again? Could she even see him again? He certainly wouldn't want to after what happened. Even if they left on neutral terms he might be feeling a bit miffed that she stabbed him in the back. He was still a demon.

"Feelings are stupid." Lydia groaned, flopping on top of her bed dramatically as she gave a deep sigh. She had just gotten back from another appointment and curled up on the bed.

"I can't believe I miss when Delia would be the one 'life coaching' me. I shouldn't feel guilty for what happened; he deserved it. He was going to kill dad, possibly everyone. He tricked me into almost exorcising Barbara!" Lydia wrinkled her nose, kicking at the air with her legs as she grabbed onto her pillow then tore at it a little."That big, smelly jerk."

She sniffled a little then buried her face into the pillow. Why should she care. He only ever cared about his powers and about himself. Even if he stood up for her and saved her from his crappy mom. Who only was there because she ran into the Netherworld and abandoned everyone. In hopes of seeing her mom again. She wasn't at fault, though; it was just a big mess.

"Lydia sweetie, are you okay?" A concerned voice came from behind her door with a gentle knock following it.

"Is it okay if I come in?" Lydia lifted her head from the pillow then looked to the door. She gave a one shoulder shrug.

"Only if you want to, Barbara." She shifted, rolling onto her back as she stared up at the ceiling. Barbara phased through the door deciding she would practice on her ghostly abilities some more. Even if she still felt it a bit rude to not use the door. She walked over to the bed, then sat down on the edge of it while reaching out to gently stroke Lydia's head.

"How was your appointment honey?" She gave the sweetest, caring smile she could muster for the young girl as Lydia blew one of her bangs out of her face.

"Was okay, I guess; I don't know why I still have to go to these.." The goth teen closed her eyes, finding it soothing in a way to feel the cold fingers of her friend comforting her. Barbra quirked a brow at her, then stopped for a moment as she gently patted Lydia's head in response.

"Are you still having those nightmares?" Lydia inhaled deeply before sitting up as she swung her legs around.

"...yes." She spoke softly, just barely above a whisper as her gaze cast downwards. Barbara inched closer to her then wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Oh, Lydia. I know that man was awful. Yet, I understand if you feel bad for him. I still.. really do not like him. Although I hope he's found peace in whatever he is doing now, in the Netherworld. Even if I will never forgive him." A frown creased the lips of the ghostly woman as she knit her brows. "I'm just glad he left on his own at least. Only good thing he did while he was here. Besides saving you." She sighed then gave a shake of her head. Lydia looked up at her while playing with the ends of her lacy black dress.

"I know.. he. I mean, he wasn't.. I don't know. He's a jerk, yeah, a real asshole. But, I think he did care about us, even if it was a little. Scaring people with him was fun, I just didn't.. want him to kill my dad. Even if I was mad at him. Upset. I know now dad acted the way he did because he was hurting as much as I was. He just masked his grief differently than I did. But, I hated the tantrum Beetlejuice made. I didn't want him to hurt you or Adam." Lydia gently moved her hand over Barbara's hand, eyes softening a bit. Barbara moved her hand away from Lydia, opting to gently grab her cheek.

"You put too much on your shoulders, sweetie. You're a good kid. You were so brave.. we should've been the ones to protect you, though. Not the other way around. You know I don't hold anything against you for what happened. Adam and I should've not put our trust in Beetlejuice in the first place. What we should've done was shooed him away. But we were just so desperate. Losing everything in such a short amount of time." She moved her hand away, resting both of them now in her lap as she stared down at the floor. "Gosh. I wish I became more assertive sooner. At least now if anything like that happens again, we'll be better about it." She looked back to Lydia, giving her a comforting smile. Lydia nodded to her in response.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me. I'm not gonna make any more deals with demons I barely know again." Lydia snorted. Barbara gave a small chuckle as she bumped her shoulder.

"I hope you mean any deals _ever_ again."

"Eh, we'll see." Lydia snickered, Barbara giving her a small scowl of disapproval.

"Lydia." Lydia laughed, then gave Barbara a hug.

"Okay, okay. I really need a nap now." She let go then smiled up at Barbara. The woman took the hint, getting up after giving a small wave. She turned around then phased through the door once more. Lydia kicked her combat boots off her feet, then got up and walked over to the door. She locked it just for some privacy and moved back over to the bed, jumping on it. A nap.. another nightmare? Her expression soured as she stared out to the window of her bedroom. The sky was cloudy, dark grays and purples covering every bit of the bright blue endless sky. She shifted her gaze to the mirror that was on the other side of her room. Reason number four. It would be crazy. She shouldn't even try. How could she be so sure that she could even summon him if he was in the Netherworld. It would be safer to try that than going back into it. Wrapping her arms around herself, her mind was battling all the possibilities of things that could go wrong. A thought occurred to her as she remembered the handbook for the recently deceased. She still had the copy Beetlejuice gave her. Maybe there was a chapter about how to deal with a demon besides marrying them and killing them. Hopping off the bed, she ran to her dresser, digging around in the bottom one. Just as she left it; under her old clothes she never wore anymore. Taking it out, she sat on the ground then began sifting through the pages. A faint glow coming from each one.

_'This is crazy, what am I doing.'_ Lydia thought to herself after looking through a couple of chapters, sighing as she began to close the book. She couldn't endanger everyone. She didn't want to put them through.. hm. Hold on. Her eyes flickered as she noticed a color change in a page, big red letters spelling out the name of a new chapter. **DEMONS** , and how to handle them. Her fingers smoothed over the page as he brought the book into her lap once more.

"You can summon special demons by chanting their name three times, without breaking the pattern. If your demon guide however is unhelpful, and causing more problems than you need. You can send them back by chanting their name once more. Three times, unbroken..."

Her eyes widen as she bit her lip. If it was in this book, then it had to work, right? This was given to the recently deceased to help them after all. She thought back to after everything happened with Beetlejuice, remembering her dad now having crosses around the house even if that didn't really work when he used it before. However he had also acquired holy water and given Lydia some as a precaution. She thought it was silly, since back then she had no reason to believe Beetlejuice would come back. Now that she was faced with a new option, however. She slid the dresser drawer back in place, keeping the book tucked under her arm. She walked over to her bookshelf and pulled down a squirt gun that her dad had poured the holy water in. Would this actually work? If it didn't it probably would either piss Beetlejuice off or make him laugh at her. Or both. Either way she still liked the security of it. Maybe he'll be too entertained by her squirting him with holy water to hurt her or the others. Holding this in her hand meant that this was real. She was really going to do this. Walking over to her curtains, she closed them quickly. Lydia then went to her phone on the nightstand then picked it up. She turned the Bluetooth on, changing the volume of her music to the max. It wasn't uncommon for Lydia to listen to her music loudly some times. A good excuse to cover up whatever noise the demon would bring; the others wouldn't question it. Her dad wouldn't be home for a little while longer so she didn't need to worry about him. He was the only person who was ever bothered by her listening too loud.

"Alright.. you can do this, Lydia. Just. Just one quick conversation can work for closure, right? Right. This isn't the dumbest thing you ever did at all. Besides summoning him the first time.." She tossed the book on the bed, then held up her squirt gun. It might not even work, so that would be good. Right? This is just an empty attempt. Whatever it took to reassure herself she wasn't going to get killed. Sitting down on the end of her bed, she stared out at the mirror. Okay. You can do this, Lydia Deetz.

"Beetlejuice.." Everything seemed normal so far. Just the sound of her music, nothing eerie whatsoever. There was a chill however she felt against her neck, though she figured it was just her nerves.

"Beetlejuice." A gust of wind started knocking hard at her window. It had to have been the oncoming storm. Just another coincidence. Or so she thought. Her music started to change songs at a frequent pace. Shit. This was really happening. Was he really going to come? She gripped her squirt gun, gritting her teeth. She couldn't show fear. Lydia refused to let him have the upper-hand.

" **Beetlejuice!** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaaay, that's chapter one. Chapter two is being worked on right now, so, might pop up soon-ish.
> 
> This is a journey of Lydia reconciling with Beeltejuice on her own accord, while also trying to get him to make amends with the Maitlands and apologize to her dad.


	2. A Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia wasn't sure what to expect, but prepared herself best she could as that familiar figure filled her bedroom with smoke and fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnd here is chapter 2! I tweaked it around, and looked it over best I could to edit it so it would come out nicely. Thanks for the kind words so far, guys, I'm glad some of y'all like it!
> 
> The next chapter might be a little smaller or longer depending on how much I go on it. It's supposed to be a follow up and a small time skip for this chapter.

Lydia raised her voiced the third time, feeling the air around her becoming heavy. Books and knickknacks flew off her bookshelf, clothes flew out of her dresser. A gust of wind flowed through the room out of thin air whipping her hair around. The lights in her room flickered as a fog crept from under her dresser and bed. It swirled with a vibrant green glow that crackled from the floorboards, becoming more intense as the force of the wind joined it. An eerie cackle bounced off the walls of her room. Lydia was glad she raised the volume on her music earlier. Just as a thunderous boom rattled the windowpane of her bedroom, the fog exploded in a light show and floating before her eyes was the demon.

Just as she remembered him. Though right now he was floating above her floor looking a little bewildered, yet elated with a malevolent grin plastered across his face. He scoped the room out as his body vibrated a little. Jagged, yellow teeth. His dirty disheveled striped suit. That electric, messy green hair bleeding into the brown roots that met his forehead. The moss still growing on the side of his face. Those sunken in eyes, wild as ever. He hadn't even noticed that she was in the room with him.

"Hooollllyyyy shiit! Someone actually summoned me! I'm out of that piles of paperwork, bureaucratic hellhole! FREEDOM! FREEE-EEEEDDOOOMMM!" That raspy voice rang out as his fingers rung through that grimy, soft hair of his. He was so ecstatic that he jumped right into being destructive when his eyes darted to the curtains. With a swipe of his hand it lit ablaze and he turned to do more mischief next. Lydia panicked, jumping off her bed as she grabbed at her pillow and threw it at his head to get his attention.

"Put that fire out, you dumbass!" She hissed pointing the water gun at him. The joy that was once displayed across the demon's features now was replaced with a more complex one after he looked down. Shock hit him fast. The flames that began to engulf her curtains died out. He let gravity plant his ass right on the floor. Lydia followed his body with her gun never letting up her stance.

" _You?_ You.. **You**." His voice cracked at first. Then became more gravelly and hoarse on the last 'you' he managed to croak out. Realization hit like a trucker ramming into fresh roadkill when he noticed which house he was in. Staring up at the girl he once called his friend, his hands balled up into fists as he furrowed his brow. Streaks of blue, purple, and red shot out from his hair a vibrant mix of colors betraying him with it's display of his emotions. He inhaled deeply as he went to stand up. Lydia stomped her foot down, causing him to flinch for a moment. Beetlejuice stayed where he was instead.

"No! St.. stay there." She frowned. His gaze traveled down to stare at the water gun. A guttural laugh ripped from him as he gave her a snort, shaking his head.

"What're you gonna do? Get my suit wet? Please. A little bit of water ain't gonna hurt me. Even if I rather stay dry." He mumbled, crossing his arms as he eyed her up and down. Clicking her tongue, Lydia rolled her shoulders.

"It's holy water! Look, I.." A flash of guilt hit her causing her expression to soften for a moment. "...I just want to talk." She awkwardly shuffled her feet around a little. Beetlejuice's shoulders slumped as he rolled his eyes, giving a heavy sigh.

"...alright, I'll give ya ten minutes, kid. Then I'm _outta here;_ now that I'm summoned I rather be any place than here." He mumbled. Lydia took a step closer to him. In response he shuffled away from her. She opted to sit down then where she was, so she could look at him at eye level. He was curious why she would even want him near her after everything that happened. He'd never admit it but he did feel the tiniest, smallest bit of guilt for what he did to her. Alright he did actually feel guilty. Even though _he felt_ she was a little selfish which he usually valued in a person. I mean really who chooses a mother over their own friend? Most people, probably. However he still had a smidgen of a grudge about it. She was still fun to hang out with though and treated him nice in her own way. Nicer than anyone ever had been to him, in fact, as pathetic as that was. She even gave him a hug. The colors in his hair slowly faded back to his usual green though small streaks of blue were still branched out from his roots. Lydia seemed to be struggling with starting with whatever she had to say to him. BJ knitted his brows feeling a little anxious himself, though opted to be patient once in his life and let her speak when ready. Still had the gun pointed at him; that was fair with their track record.

"So.. I just." She groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. This was hard. This was harder than she thought it would be.

"..I. I wanted to start off by saying, that. I'm not sorry about doing what I did. I couldn't let you hurt everyone. I was mad that you almost made me get rid of Barbara. I was hurt that you betrayed me, I told you I just wanted to get my mom back. We could've gone back to scaring people after I figured it out. I was hurting, I missed her. I know.. it's a sore subject for you. I get why parents are something that make you upset after meeting Juno. But, my mom was nice.. I love her." Her arm begins to tremble a little.

"I am sorry for being the reason you had to see Juno again. I'm sorry she tried getting rid of you for good. You're not a screw up, or a fool.. I just." She teared up a little, feeling everything she has been holding back for months begin to creep up on her.

He could just use this opportunity to split. It was uncomfortable dealing with an emotional teen. Plus she was talking about his mother the person he hated the most in any existence. A nagging feeling was keeping him there however. Something about watching this girl. That enjoyed scaring almost as much as he did, crying. It hurt a little for some reason. He rubbed the bridge of his nose when he heard her crying pick up, becoming harder. She hiccuped a little and it was annoying.

"Okay, okay; no water works kid, please. Also it's kinda hard to hear you over that music." He snapped his fingers and the music turned down just a little. He sighed, glad that her attention came back to him when he spoke.

"Take your time if you gotta. I suck at reading people outside of scaring them. It looks like this had been bothering you for a while. Don't rush through it." He mumbled not really knowing how to comfort her. "This the reason you summoned me?" He asked while leaning back as his hands moved behind him to hold his weight. Lydia nodded, wiping some tears away.

"It's. It's more complicated than that... ever since you left. I've been having nightmares.." Lydia's voice gave out near the end of her sentence.

Nightmares usually were fun so he didn't understand what the problem was. Although he knew breathers some times had nightmares about things that were really shitty. Maybe it was that. He motioned for her to continue.

"I don't know if. If it's guilt, or my trauma, but.. I never killed someone before. I don't really want to do it again either. It was.. it was scarier than anything I've ever experienced before." Her voice trailed off barely an audible whisper. She set the water gun down now that she was sure he wasn't going to do anything.

Even though he wasn't usually around ankle biters. He had some understanding that while murder was fun for him, that would take a toll on a kid. It was different than him killing _for_ her. She actually killed for herself. He grimaced a little, unconsciously grabbing at his chest where she had impaled him. Lydia had noticed this however and balled her hands into fists while she gripped her dress.

"If this is too hard for you, you can leave." Lydia spoke up again staring up into his eyes.

Beetlejuice wrinkled his nose. He wasn't scared of this kid. He didn't need any pity. Although maybe she did just want him to feel comfortable. Why was she being so considerate? They never really were friends, right? Even if he thought so. He snorted, waving her off.

"Kid, I'm fine. So, what's this nightmare." He fixed his composure, tightening his tie.

Lydia shrugged as she looked for anything else to focus her gaze on. This next part was going to be hard. She didn't want to open up to him but she no longer wished to feel dread whenever she slept. The nightmares had to come to an end. She wanted to move on with her life.

"The nightmares are all the same one, actually. It's the day I killed you. It starts of as it actually did. You talking about how life was too much to handle. Getting ready to murder someone because you couldn't process it. Then, me stabbing you. After that though, everyone starts to turn into weird blobs. You and I are the only ones that still have a shape. Everything fades into a dark abyss. Mouths appear out of no where, laughing in a creepy way at us. Blood pours from their mouths.." She starts listing the things off on her fingers. She was having trouble keeping up with what she was saying unable to make eye contact with him. Beetlejuice tensed a little when she mentioned murdering him, thinking of course she has to talk more about it.

"Then your mom is there. She's holding you up, like you're her captive or something. Then a sandworm eats us. That part got kind of weird. Even compared to the rest of the nightmare." She mumbled. Finally she manages to look back up at him. Beetlejuice was leaning forward now, his elbows resting on his thighs, hands in his lap. He was staring right at her.

"Well fuck, Lyds; that is a lot to unpack." He moved a hand up to stroke his chin. Not really sure what to say in the moment. He needed to collect his thoughts. When he noticed her fidgeting in place, tears brimming her eyes again, he didn't want her to cry. Beetlejuice crossed his arms as he sat up straight.

"Alright.. so. Dreaming about killing me, which, I gotta admit; now that I've had time to mull it over the past couple of months I'm impressed. You successfully manipulated me by agreeing to help me be alive. Then killed me so you could send me back to the Netherworld. Haven't been tricked by a breather like you before." He gave a small smirk almost proud that the first person that agreed to help him scare in a long, long time could have a conniving side.

"We should probably get to the _bare bones_ of the matter." He clapped his hands together and a bunch of bones came into existence. Clattering onto the floor around them. Lydia jumped a little then stared at them, trying not to let out a small snicker. Good, laughs, that was something he could work with to try and cheer her up.

"Fiiiirrssst, even though I am impressed you killed me and fair enough since I was being kind of an ass..." Before he could finish his sentence Lydia had chimed in with a quip.

"I'd say more than kind of. You did threaten me and my family to get me to do a green card _marriage_." She quirked a brow, her fingers tapping on the ground as she gave him an unamused look.

"Alright. That was shitty of me." He conjured a white flag waving it in peace as he heaved a dramatic sigh.

"For real I'm sorry I did that. It wasn't cool and came off pretty sketchy. If you hadn't noticed I don't like being alone. So I panicked because I thought you were going to ditch me." The purple in his hair began to creep back and Lydia just gave him an understanding look to let him know he could continue.

"Unfortunately the only way to bring a ghost alive again is to marry them. I should've weighed my options better. I'm.. uh.." He gagged a little as he tried to form the words, having a hard time. Saying sorry was one thing, yet doing a heart-felt apology made it feel like he was going to combust.

"Gimme a sec.." He slapped his face, his head spinning around on his neck comically in a 360 spin as he came to his senses. When he was done being a ham he looked back to her.

"I'm deeply apologetic about what I did. Normally I take being creepy as a compliment, however out of context of what I was trying to do it's super..." He wrinkled his nose. "Yeah. Fucking creepy and not in the good way. Even in context it's still shitty." He mumbled. "Having a talk with Miss Argentina made me realize that. When I heard it outloud for the first time after the fact. I swear I didn't meant to come off that way, though." Beetlejuice raised his hand as if doing a mock boy scouts honor salute.

"Oh, that nice ghost lady I met in the Netherworld.." Lydia leaned back against her bed, feeling like she could relax a little finally.

"Well. You actually sound sincere, which is weird since your voice always drips with sarcasm or something like that." She looked away for a moment as if contemplating something. "..I know you said that you were impressed. However.. did killing you hurt you? Like, besides the obvious." Her gaze drifted back to him.

"Hurt me? I mean, yeah, it would fuckin' hurt getting bad art impaled through a meatsack body." He thought more on what she said then it dawned on him. She meant if it hurt his feelings. He ran a hand through his ever-shifting array of colorful hair trying to figure out how he should respond. Sure it did kind of did hurt his feelings. Yet it's like he said, the situation he forced her in was pretty shitty. She also mentioned she wasn't sorry for what she did to him. She was still being nice at least. Maybe those dweeby Maitlands rubbed off on her a bit. Even though he only knew her a brief time the Lydia he knew before probably wouldn't have given too much a shit about this. While she was fun and sort of nice to him when they scared people. She still easily jumped to kill him.

"Eh. Maybe just a bit. However I already said I probably deserved it. It's better that I'm dead anyways. Being human was hard. Even if it was just for like four minutes, or less." He counted off on his hand.

"Okay.." She looked him over, unsure if she should continue. Wanting to get back to the topic on hand she cleared her throat. "So, about the dream.." Beeltejuice took his hand, pounding a fist into the other one.

"Right, right. The thing you summoned me here for in the first place. Yeah.. so, blood, my shit mom, sandworm. I ain't really a shrink, Lyds. So what I'm gonna say next is probably gonna be some bullshit. Like.. I don't know, is it a guilt dream? Why'd you tell me about it?" He was still unsure about some things that were going on her. Though he tried to give his best bet. Lydia shook her head as she grabbed onto her feet, tilting forward.

"I already kind of understand what the dream means now thanks to my therapist. What I called you here for is I wanted you to hear it. I wanted you to know how I feel. What we all went through together and I wanted to hear your thoughts on it. Also how you felt about how we ended things. I did the apology I felt like you needed and I told you what I wasn't sorry for. I kind of feel a little better. Although I still feel like crying a lot, too." She moved her hands away to wipe as her face again.

"It's... so overwhelming. I'm.. I'm scared, Beej." Lydia softly spoke, admitting finally what she was afraid to say. Beetlejuice was stumped. She actually admitted for the first time to him ever she was afraid. Not of him, he was sure of that at least. Of what he wasn't sure. The nightmare itself? It's meaning? He really did suck at this. He grumbled a little then began to drift off the ground, floating into the air to move closer to her. He plopped himself down next to her. Startling her a little as she jumped from him. He raised his hands up in defense quick to respond.

"Hey, hey, wait; don't be.. uh. Scared. Just..." He began to hesitantly wrap an arm around her before realizing he probably should ask.

"Uh.. this okay?" He asked, staring at her as he kept his arm in mid air. Lydia stared at his arm then at him. She wrinkled her nose from the smell of his unwashed suit along with the earthly-dirt scent that lingered off his body. The sentiment he was offering had to have been tough for him to do and it showed he actually cared about how she felt. She gave just a small nod and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He moved his other around around her front and gave her a small hug then patted her back.

"I don't actually know what you're scared of kid. Although I've gotta say I'm hurt I'm not scary enough for you." Beetlejuice gave a mock-hurt tone to the end of his sentence as to try and lighten the mood. Lydia surprisingly clung to him as she let out a soft whimper. His shoulders dropped as he started to let go of her, only to be stopped when he felt her tighten the hug. She began crying again. He lost count how many times this made now. She buried her face into his chest, sniffling as she curled up in his arms. He wanted to just phase out of the room yet opted to stay since it seemed like she needed this. He rested his chin on top of her head as he just let her continue to sob.

"I hate this. I hate feeling... this scared. It's-it's so suffocating. Why does this hurt? Why do I feel horrible." She managed to choke out. Beetlejuice tensed while she spoke.

"Wish I knew, kid; my specialty is scaring, not helping people stop feeling scared. But ya got a good support system Lydia. Those sexy, nerdy Maitlands actually nutted up to try and protect you. Your dad chased after you into the Netherworld when you ran off. That Delilah chick probably cares about you too." He tried thinking up everyone that she actually had in her life that cared. He wish he had that. Wish he had someone who loved and cared about him. It was a hard concept to wrap his head around, he always felt like he never deserved it. Lydia shook her head, looking up at him finally.

"Her name is _Delia_ , not Delilah. You know, it's weird. She actually does." She sniffled, smiling softly.

"You weren't there for that part. Since your mom kind of tossed you out. Delia threw herself in front of me, saying that she wanted to protect me when Juno was threatening to drag me back to the Netherworld. Ever since then she's been trying her best to understand me. Even if I'm not the warmest to her sometimes. I appreciate the effort at least. I know she's isn't faking it." Lydia patted his side, indicating he could let her go as she sat back again. Beetlejuice moved his hand to rub the back of his neck.

"You know for someone who says he sucks at comforting, you didn't do that bad of a job." She gave him a tired smile, then picked up the water gun again. He eyed it bit warily. She tossed it away then gently nudged him. "Can you believe I was gonna blast your face with that?" That made him crack a grin then gave her a snicker.

"Yeah that probably wouldn't have done much, anyways. Other than make me slightly clean." He stuck his tongue out.

"Well, it might've stung a little. I don't know. I haven't had holy water thrown on me before, if you would believe that. It's rare I scare priests. It's a hoot when I do even if it's never in a church. Those places are waaaay too stuffy." He rolled his eyes. He snapped his head back to her. "So, I actually helped ya..?" His tone shifted to a more softer one. She nodded giving his shoulder a pat.

"You did; I never thought I would actually hug you again. Oh.. that reminds me." She got up, walking over to her nightstand. He floated off the ground once more so he could peer over the bed to see. She pulled out from the small cubby under the drawer of her nightstand, a cowboy hat. She held it up as she turned around to show him.

"I still have this. I don't know why I kept it, honestly. Guess deep down I couldn't let a piece of you go. I did hate you for a while. I'm not sure if I can forgive you for everything. Although.. it means a lot that you apologized. Maybe one day." She walked over, motioning for him to float up a little higher as she set the cowboy hat on his head.

"Maybe we could be friends again, some day. I'm not sure. I thought this exchange was going to go a lot differently." He gawked a little. A warm feeling hit him, as he moved his hand up and felt his hat.

_'Be friends again? Is she serious? Why doesn't she hate me. It's okay if she hates me, I'm used to people hating me. She kept my hat, though. I just gave it to her as a sign of peace. Even if I was still a little mad. Did she really care about me, then?'_ What she told him seemed impossible. He felt like life was just fucking with him again. There's no way she would ever forgive him he just didn't deserve anything good. As if sensing sort of what he was thinking, she poked his nose.

"Listen, I'm not a shrink either. However I think you have a problem with self esteem. I can't fix that right now. I meant what I said to you. I do appreciate what you said to me, how you tried comforting me. I would've liked if you didn't toss all my shit everywhere when you got here though." She looked around the room, putting her hands on her hips as she sighed.

"You're lucky you didn't break my camera. It's a family heirloom from my mom." Beetlejuice looked around the room, then gave a small laugh.

"Hey you know me, Lyds; I gotta make an entrance! It feels nice to be out of the Netherworld. I had to stretch my legs." He turned his head back to grin at her. There was a worm she hadn't noticed before wiggling in-between his teeth and she stuck her tongue out. There's that weird, gross charm of his. She flicked his forehead causing him to scowl. He rubbed where she snapped her fingers against his clam-y flesh. She motioned to her room when his attention was drawn back to her.

"I know you can bend reality or whatever it is your demon powers do. Please clean my room, I don't feel like doing it because I'm tired." Lydia politely requested. Beetlejuice groaned yet didn't complain as with a flick of his wrists. Everything began to move back into place. The curtains were no longer fire-damaged, her clothes went back neatly into her dresser and her books were slid neatly into the shelves. Even the random bones he conjured up were gone. She gave him a pleased smile along with a thumbs up. He flipped her off which just made her laugh. He couldn't help but join her in her laugh. He tipped his hat to her then looked towards the window a moment later.

"..so, that all you needed, kid? Guess... we part ways again?" He looked back to her a tinge of sadness edged at the end of his words. She rubbed her arm as she looked towards the window as well. She walked around him and the bed, then opened the curtains to see it was raining now.

"I guess so. You did say you wanted to get away from here, right?" She looked over her shoulder at him. He pursed his lips then tapped his fingers against his chin.

"Yeah that was the deal. I hear you out, then be on my way.." He sighed then floated over towards her and the window. He placed a hand on the glass, staring off into the distance. She still wasn't sure how to feel about him yet she knew she wasn't really scared of him. Even though he was acting off for how he normally was. Maybe he wanted closure as much as she did? He couldn't come back on his own before so she hoped this was good for him. She playfully nudged him with her elbow.

"I mean; even though you probably shouldn't show yourself around the house. I wouldn't mind if you came back to my room some times. If you wanna try to build up trust again or something. If you don't hate me. It's kind of nice having someone I can weirdly relate to that isn't a parental figure. Someone I can talk to about this." He looked over to her then scratched his head.

"I don't know. Pretty sure everyone would hate it if they saw-wait. Did you summon me without telling anyone about it?" He slowly became aware of the very lack of parental supervision as he peered over to her bedroom door. There was no way the Maitlands nor her parents would've let him near her without them being around. She inhaled sharply, staring a little bug-eyed down at the ground while pressing her lips together. Shit.

"Uh.. maybe." She mumbled. He looked to her. Then let out a bellowing laughter, slapping her hard on the back.

"Well! Look at you, you little rebel! Ahhhh shit. Part of me feels like messing with the Maitlands again. Unfortunately for me they probably would try to send me back to the Netherworld." He grimaced then looked back to the window. "I'm not so sure if it would be safe to keep coming back here. However, other breathers are usually boring as hell. You were pretty fun. As long as the others don't find out I guess I wouldn't mind stopping in every so often. Maybe we could even scare together again." His eyes flashed a mischievous glow as he gave her an malevolent smirk. She gave him an wicked smile back.

"I probably am gonna have to tell them about you eventually. It's kind of hard to hide all this." She motioned to him knowing how much of a show off he could be. He nodded.

"Eh it's true; we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it." He stretched out a little. Taking the cowboy hat off he slapped it onto her head. She stumbled a little, giving him a small scowl.

"Well how about you hold onto this, lil scarecrow. So I have a reason to come back. Now if you'll excuse me. I wanna go stretch my legs and scare the shit out of some Karen in her forties while she's kicking back, sipping on her wine box." He grinned while ringing his dirty hands together.

"I'll be back later, Lyds!" He cackled, then dashed off, phasing through her wall and disappearing into the stormy night. She placed her hand on the window, staring off at nothing now as she fixed the hat on her head.

"See you soon, Dorothy." She decided it was finally time for that nap.


	3. A set of Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been a while since Lydia had talked to her mom. While catching her up on things, a visitor surprises her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnd here is chapter 3! Took a few days because I had to think of what dialogue to follow up chapter 2 with, and this time I actually had a beta reader. My friend edited it since I have a problem with adding a lot of commas in my stories lol.

It had been about a week since Lydia's talk with Beetlejuice. She hadn't seen any traces of him since then. It made her question if it wasn't all just a dream. Maybe it was her finally confronting him in her own way. Doing so in her sleep was the reason she stopped having those nightmares. When she took that nap after she got home from her therapist's appointment, she slept soundly. No nightmares. Just a very refreshing rest. Her depression seemed to come to a dull by the end of the week. It was definitely one of her better days. Thinking about the demon drew her up the old stairs of the Maitland-Deetz home. She felt like staring out into the world from the rooftop, maybe take a few pictures of people walking down below. The Maitlands were currently dealing with Delia who was getting a little too enthusiastic about decorating with her crystals again. So, everyone except for her was busy in the living room with that. The teen stepped through the antique doorway that led out onto the rooftop deck of the house. A gust of wind ruffled her hair, Lydia taking this moment to inhale deeply. Even though she was indifferent to the fresh air when she first moved here from New York, she had slowly come to enjoy it over time. It wasn't as stuffy out here. Even if she still was getting used to the place. Her memories of her home and old family in New York was something she would treasure. Moving on with new memories she learned to appreciate these small moments as well. Approaching the edge of the deck where the old, slightly rusty fencing brought her back to when she first met Beetlejuice. Taking a picture of the view, she adjusted her camera afterward to take a second picture.

Gazing down below in thought over the hopeful end of her nightmares, she figured it was a while since she talked to her mom.

"Hey, mom. I know it's been a few months. Now that I know a little more about the afterlife, I'm not even sure if you can hear me from the Netherworld. If you're even there. I'm still not sure if the Netherworld is the place all dead people go to, to live forever. Or if it's like using an airport terminal before you leave on your flight, except the flight goes to heaven or hell. If those exist. I know Beej said that he was from hell, but, I think he was just trying to be dramatic." Lydia thought back to her short time in the Netherworld. It was confusing, nothing really made sense there.

"I'm rambling, sorry. I just wanted to let you know that I think I finally made some progress with dad. He actually talks about you with me now. To Delia, too. I'm not sure if you guys would get along, but, you'd probably be the one to enjoy her strange energy. I'm not gonna tell her this, but, I like that she's kind of weird under all that bubbly crap. Even if she doesn't see it herself. I still don't really know how to feel about her." Lydia chuckled weakly as she thought of Delia. She did tell Delia she had a place there with her family and meant that, at least. It was complicated still.

"I also think after finding out ghosts and demons are real, it makes me kind of want to check out haunted places more. Plus, actually getting to scare people with a real demon was a thrill. Even if it got messy at the end. I would definitely do it again. Minus the bad stuff. Hearing people scream because you terrify them is the best." A grin crept onto her features.

Sure, she scared those people with the mischievous demon at first because she was just venting out her anger towards her dad. Therapy helped her realize it. After that wore off, though, she remembered it was really fun. Would she scare just anyone now? She wasn't sure. It would probably be way more entertaining scaring the crap out of people she hated. Then again, watching a stranger jump out of their skin and run would also be a delight. Lydia's gaze traveled to her camera as she looked through the pictures. She remembered she took some pictures of her and Beetlejuice scaring people. Was he out there, if it wasn't a dream, having fun scaring people now? She was kind of jealous. It would be fun if she could be there with him. He had all these cool powers and could do almost anything he wanted to. If she had those powers she would definitely start with messing with the people at her school. Not all of them were bad, but there were some kids she just couldn't stand.

"Wonder if he'll ever come back." She tapped her fingers against her camera, then let it rest at her chest. Kneeling down a little, she gripped at the fencing. "I did let him loose after all. Man, dad, and the Maitlands would flip if they knew." Lydia tightened her fingers, heaving a sigh. "Mom, did you ever have to deal with feeling lonely? I mean, I'm not as lonely as I used to be. I still just wish I had a friend. I left everything behind when dad moved us here. You were my world. I'm trying to build a new world now, but, it would be nice if I had more people in it. Adam and Barbara are great, don't get me wrong. I just kind of want.. a little more. Someone who has the same interests as me." She was leaning further over the edge of the fence unconsciously.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" A raspy voice rang out, Lydia being yanked away from the edge of the roof, a yelp squeaking out of her. She elbowed whoever had grabbed her, moving away from them when she heard a little 'oof'. Looking over her shoulder, she knew who it had to be.

"Beej, what the hell?!" She dusted off her dress, the ghost crossing his arms at her.

"Hey, I was just trying to keep your dramatic goth ass from falling off the roof. You're no good to anyone dead. After all the trouble I went to killing my own mother, out of the goodness of my dead heart for _you_." He slapped a hand over his chest for emphasis.

"I was just lost in thought, talking to my mom. Besides, you hate your mother." She snorted. Beetlejuice gave her a crooked grin.

"Yeah, it's true, she was a real neglectful bitch." He cackled. Floating over to her, he began to circle around her. "So, I miss anything fun? We didn't really get to catch up when you summoned me." His hair color was a softer shade of green since last she saw him. She had wondered about that before, his hair color seemed to change whenever he showed extreme emotion. Maybe it was like one of those old mood rings that Delia had? His hair seemed to be far more accurate than those were. He was trying to hide it but she could tell he was in a good mood. Lydia gave him a one-shoulder shrug.

"Life has been pretty boring. A little too much of the same old-same old routine for me." Lydia kicked up some leaves that were under her boots. "You probably had a more exciting week than I did. I actually was starting to think you wouldn't come back." Beetlejuice's face lit up for a second, though he tried playing it off as he was thinking about something.

"Awww, I knew you would miss me, Lyds; I mean, who wouldn't. I'm the coolest person you probably know. _Especially_ compared to the suburban bores that are Babs and Adam." He smirked while playing with the cuffs of his suit. Lydia rolled her eyes, not wanting to stroke his ego.

"Eh, you'd be surprised. Adam and Barbara have been doing a lot of cool things since you left. Trying to get a hold of being ghosts and their powers. Though they never like to scare. At least the way we scared people. Which isn't really fun. They've gotten really good at throwing their voices." She recounted how Adam and Barbara had been letting their voices echo through the house a lot lately. Especially when they needed to talk to someone else in the house. Her dad was a bit annoyed with it although let it go since he knew they were just trying to figure out their whole 'being dead' situation still. Delia definitely enjoyed it, as did Lydia. Beetlejuice quirked a brow, bringing his hand up to stroke his scruffy chin.

"Reaaallyy? Eh, it's more of some level one ghost shit, but, good to see they at least are _trying_ to act like ghosts. Guess my teaching wasn't a total waste on those two. They did actually possess people at that stuffy, tacky dinner party after all. Could've maimed one of those lawyers or that creep with a multitude of divorces under his belt, though." He waved his hand animatedly, making dramatic gestures to show emphasis. Lydia snickered in response.

"Yeah, however, they're too nice to do that. I wouldn't change a thing about them. They're good people." A soft smile spread across her lips as she thought of how Barbara and Adam were there for her during the hardest months of those nightmares. Beetlejuice gave a thumbs down in response. Lydia in turn giving him a smack on the head when he floated close enough for her to reach.

"What was that for?!" He groaned as he grabbed at his head. As if it did anything to him, the ham that he was still played along with the hit.

"If you want me to be friends with you again, you need to stop being rude about Adam and Barbara. You know, even after all that you did, they never told me that they hated you. They dislike you, sure, nonetheless they hoped you were getting help when you left because they sympathized. Even after you were a giant creep and an asshole." Lydia narrowed her eyes at him, she had been shaking a pointed finger as he retreated from her. Beetlejuice's face scrunched up, averting his gaze from her. He still hovered off the ground, now his legs curling up. Lydia walked around him so he was facing her once more. He looked up at her when he saw her combat boots shuffled in front of him, sighing.

"Listen. I'm usually quick to admit I'm a fuck-up, cause let's face it, I am. I also normally don't give a shit about it either." Lydia's expression softened for a moment when she noticed a streak of a blue shoot out from his roots.

"Beetlejuice-" He raised his hands to cut her off.

"Lemme finish, kid. I've been around for a long time. I've done shit I ain't proud of, as surprising as that would be to a person like me. Like the whole... ya know, marriage thing." He trailed off, his face contorting to one of disgust. "Usually I'm not around people for enough time, living or dead, to really make up for it. I.. ah fuck." His hands sprung up to grab at his face while he floated away from her momentarily, drifting higher in the air. He came back down, his hair now shifting through yellows and blues. "This is so goddamn hard I haattee ittt... I don't know if it was easier when I used to bottle up all my fucking problems or not. Seriously, how the hell do you breathers deal with _this_." He swiftly waved his arm in motion to himself than to her. Lydia placed her hands on her hips.

"I know that being nice isn't your thing or talking about your feelings. I don't really see a point in smiling and pretending things don't suck either. I want to hear what you have to say though. I'm not going anywhere any time soon, and the others are gonna be busy for a while. Take your time if you need to or whatever. Or, I could go get Delia and you can just listen to her talk about crystals." That got a snort along with a tug at the corner of his lips. Lydia swayed her hand to let him know to continue. He scratched at his head. His fingers rustling his hair as bugs fell out of them.

"Well, you got it right I'm not used to being nice. I'm a demon. It ain't exactly in the whole bio-exorcist description. I just... I guess I just felt weird being around those two when they were being nice. They are so damn lame with how suburban and polite they are. Yet, I kind of wanted them to be nice _to me_ at the same time. I definitely respected them more after you guys tried banishing me to the Netherworld. I never thought they would be able to pull off any form of acting." He nodded at her. "I don't really like talking about myself in this way.."

"I know, you said you never were able to properly process your emotions before." She sighed, now going to sit down on the ground. He floated himself lower, sitting down in front of her. "However, I just want you to _try_ at least and be nice. I want you to prove to me you can respect them through your actions. That means also not being a gross pervert towards them, too." Lydia narrowed her eyes at him. He scoffed, his hair color slowly changing back to its usual green.

"It's like you don't even _know me_. Flirting, being gross? It's what I do, Lyds! Spice things up a bit! Plus, look at them. Adam has a sweet little a--HEY!" He coughed when she tossed dust-up from the ground into his face, despite not needing to breathe anything in to cough.

"No! You're not talking about Adam's ass." She flatly responded when he just gave her a pout.

"I mean it. It makes them uncomfortable and I don't really wanna hear about it. You said you think they're nice. You know being nice isn't really a bad thing. At least they don't fake it like some people." Lydia swatted at a leaf that flew nearby, her brows furrowing. "They don't think being weird is a bad thing. They like me the way I am; I think they would've liked you, too. If you weren't so impatient and hotheaded with them." She looked up to him. "Yeah, they don't like the way _we_ scare, and they don't like everything that I enjoy. They try to understand it though because they know I like it. Show them some respect and it could go a long way." Beetlejuice circled the tip of his finger against the flooring.

"Okay, okay, I get what you're saying. I do.." He retched a little, ringing the sleeve of his suit. "Fuck. I can do this. I doooo... doonn... DO. I do like them. I'll try and respect them more." BJ moved his outstretched hands in a horizontal synced motion. Lydia studied his face, then his hair to see if he wasn't being sincere. Beetlejuice finally noticed she would periodically peer up to his hair. Now in response summoning that cowboy hat from her room to appear on his head. She gave an irritated huff though respected that he was probably self-conscious about his hair. Tapping her hands against her boots, she rolled her head back in thought.

"I believe you. I think we should work on your whole... perversion around them. They definitely did not like the way you would pinch and grope them. Or kiss them without consent. That's not okay. I get you're a lonely old guy but you gotta respect boundaries." She pointed at him while snapping her gaze back to the man. Beetlejuice gave a slow nod in agreement. He definitely waited a few moments before doing so. "I don't care if you flirt with people. You just can't flirt so aggressively with the Maitlands. I've noticed you do not have a subtle bone in your undead body." Lydia snorted.

"Please, I'm an expert at seducing, kid. My flirting is perfectly acceptable. I'll.. try, though, and adjust it around _them._ If I must. I'm not sure if I'll be seeing them any time soon, anyway. You said you didn't want me around the others yet, right?" He picked up a bug that landed next to them while they were talking, popping it in his mouth as he crunched and chewed it up. Lydia stared at him for a long second, disgusted yet amused by the action.

"Yeahhh... I'm not wanting you around them until we're on better terms, in general." She motioned between the both of them. BJ shrugged in agreement.

"Guess that's fair. So, what do you suggest to help improve our whole situation?" He scratched at his chest, giving her a curious tilt of his head. She clicked her tongue while playing with more leaves that gathered next to her, thanks to a gust of wind.

"Well, even though we scratched the surface of the things you did wrong. Then the things I'm not going to apologize for. Plus the things you did apologize for. I hate talking about this stuff, too, but still think we should touch up more on that later. At least in regard to you acting out when left alone." Lydia trailed off while recounting everything that happened a week ago. "We also need to adjust how you act around my family. At least a little. I'm not asking you to change your demon ways, I find that stuff pretty fun, personally. I just want to make sure you don't try any of the stuff you did before around them." Beetlejuice gave a disgruntled noise in response.

"You really are neutering me kiddo. You're also lucky that you're the first breather in the longest time that is interesting enough to make me wanna stick around." He let out an exasperated sigh. "I suppose I could _try_ to accommodate your impossible standards. Give me ye ol' commandments, oh Moses." With an arch of his brow, two giant slabs of foam, in the shape of stones fell into Lydia's laps. She bit her lip to stifle the grin that inched her lips, silencing the snicker rising in the back of her throat. Lydia held them up as she straightened her back.

"Commandment I: thou shalt not perv on the Maitlands, or ye shall be drenched by holy water via a squirt gun." The teenager played along to try and lighten the mood up a little. BJ smirked at her, appreciating she still had humor in her.

"Rule II: you're not going to be any more of a dick to my dad than I myself am. Delia is up for debate, just don't be too rude." The teen seemed to fizzle out on talking dramatically by the second rule, which disappointed him just a little. She still was entertaining him at least.

"Rule III: No threatening to murder anyone in this family or backstabbing schemes." Lydia eyed him when he conjured a fake halo that glowed. Then it flickered out like a dying light bulb. She gently kicked at his foot to make sure he got the point. He cackled a little at the weak attempt when she mouthed silently for him to pay attention.

"Rule IV: Don't bring too much attention to our family with your scares. Dad grounded me for a while because our mailman refused to come by our house after we scared him. You can scare people all you want, other than that." Lydia dryly spat, rolling her eyes. She didn't see the harm in it since it wasn't like he got hurt. The kid they scared, however, she did feel a pang of guilt when she found out that she had a heart condition. That was something she dealt with on her own when he made her apologize.

"Any other rules?" BJ leaned forward, resting his chin atop the knuckles of both of his hands, his elbows resting on top of his thighs. Lydia tapped her fingers against the foam slabs then placed them on the ground. They disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"For right now, I can't think of any. If our situation improves, dad might add some rules but only if I show you to them. You're gonna have to respect those too." Lydia stretched one leg out to the side.

"Chuck's rule is law, got it. We'll see if I can handle it. Authority ain't something I exactly respect, Lyds. Even if I do follow a set of rules of my own, by the Netherworld's standards." BJ mumbled, scratching at his hair again.

She figured it was more than likely thanks to his mom he was still hesitant to respect a parent. Maybe one day he'd be able to find that familial bond he definitely wanted, deep down. Lydia wasn't sure if he would find that here or not. It was something that they would find out, in time.

"Yeah, dad's rule is law. Mostly. At least making a genuine attempt is all that I ask." Lydia leaned back, finally relaxing just a tad since she noted that he seemed calm for a change. "Since the rules are set, for now, we just gotta think of a way to move things along. Like one of Delia's trust exercises, or something less dumb." Beetlejuice knit his brows, concentrating on something. All of a sudden, he sprung up to his feet, his hair almost glowing now with the vibrant, electric green that it subtly shifted to. An elated grin displayed on his face, he twitched his hand, a glow radiating off of Lydia now as he lifted her up from the ground. She was shortly planted back onto the solid ground, on her feet now as she gave him a quizzical look.

"If all those sticks in the mud are busy still, we could go scare some chumps! I got a few good scares while I was away, sure. It would be ten times better with a gremlin-like you helping! The clones have the enthusiasm, however, they can't replace the delivery that you and I can land. What do ya say?" He gave her an outstretched hand, hovering off the ground once more. A glint of mischief flickered off her eyes for a moment, an impish smile curling her lips. She definitely wanted to take him up on this. She felt at least some comfort being alone with him, at least for now, then again would it be wise to take his offer? Lydia was smarter than this for sure. She didn't want to seem too eager, instead crossing her arms, looking away with a small 'hmph'. He curled his fingers back into the palm of his hand then lowered it back to his thigh with a disappointed look.

"How can I be sure that I could trust you, hm? I rather know where I'm going if I even think about agreeing, Beej." Lydia quirked a brow when she heard his guffaw.

"Fair, kid, fair. Alright, how's about this? We just go and scare your neighbor, right down the hill. She's an ol' bat that I checked in on yesterday, decided not to scare her cause I was feeling up to more of a challenge. Good enough distance between here and there, you could even give an excuse that you're just going out for a short walk to the old man." He floated over to her, nudging her arm. She looked him over once as if taking it into consideration. Then she remembered the book. The way to banish a demon. Her gloved hands gripped at the sleeves of her dress.

Could she really do this? She didn't feel like letting him know about her ace up the sleeve, but if she wanted to make progress with him to see if he really wants to make things up to her. Lydia would have to be a little honest herself. Trust was a two-way street. If he could be understanding about knowing she could just send him away, maybe she could feel safe. She knew right away he wouldn't like it if she used it as a threat. Instead of a bargain for the road to recovery. If she was going to let him know that she knew about this little rule, she had to do it now. BJ was about to pat her shoulder to see if she was okay. Lydia reacting before he could by swatting his hand away.

"So, if we wanna work on some trust and bonding exercises. I guess I should come clean as to why I felt confident enough to summon you in the first place." Lydia turned to face him completely now. He gave a tilt of his head in response. "I was able to keep the book you gave me open by having Barbara leave a bookmark in there for me, herself. Found a loophole by just trying stuff since I kind of enjoyed reading the contents that are in it. I looked up the chapter about demons. Just in case you were pissed about me killing you. You know, I needed some insurance." She shrugged.

"Crafty. Rude, yet understandable. Go on." He waved the back of his hand.

"The chapter said there was a way to banish a demon that you've summoned, which you conveniently never told any of us last time you were here. Just like how I summoned you, I could send you back by repeating your name another three times." Beetlejuice's eyes widen, a multitude of deep blues and soft purples creeping through the strands of his bangs that stuck out from under the cowboy hat. Lydia pressed her lips together, feeling a little nervous. "I wanna say that first off, I'm not going to send you back. I think this is a way to help with rebuilding our trust." His eyes shifted from her, the older man flexing his hands a little, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"You sure have a funny way of building trust, kid." His voice dropped off to a soft mumble, Lydia frowning.

"Listen, where I'm going with this is if I can trust you, you need to be okay with knowing I can do this. I don't want to. I understand how it feels to be neglected and invisible. To feel like nothing matters, like you don't matter. I didn't want to hide this from you if we wanna be friends again." Lydia stepped closer to him, covering her chest with both hands. Beetlejuice's shoulders slumped, giving a slow nod.

"Just.. just, please. Please don't send me back. I don't want to be invisible again. I don't want to be alone. Looking for my dad was a bust, and I got stuck with helping Miss Tina out with sorting out the newly deads. It was so goddamn boring and lonely. I promise I'll behave as best as a demon can." He dropped to his knees, clasping his hands together as he shook them desperately. "I just want to have fun with you again." She looked down at him, then patted his shoulder.

"I believe you. So, can you be okay knowing what I know?" He got back to his feet quickly, his hair still a deep blue.

"I can try to be." He gloomily spoke. Lydia playfully punched his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

"I'll take it. I don't want to use it as a threat, BJ, I promise you that. I'd like for you to stick around for a bit." Lydia held out her hand for him, the blue fading out of his hair finally when he noticed the gesture. He grabbed onto her hand, shaking it with a little enthusiasm, giving her a small smile

"How about we go and scare the dentures out of that lady you mentioned? I have a few ideas already." Beeltejuice brightened up to this.

"Guess you should go tell those losers you're heading out. I'll meet ya downstairs! Don't worry, I'll make myself invisible." Joy returned to the demon's face before he zipped away from her, giving her a small wave, tossing the cowboy hat up, making it disappear. Lydia shook her head, then sighed. Things were still pretty awkward between them, but, at least she cleared some things up. Turning on her heel, she walked back into the house, ready to come up with the quick lie to her dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, next chapter is some scares! I have a few chapter ideas left after chapter 4, and at least one more scare chapter. If I put something in some of the scares that you guys feel I should tag, let me know and I'll add it into the fic tags.


	4. A walkthrough of Power and Scares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia always wondered how everything worked with the ghost-born demon, including how he was able to leave the house without being sandworm chow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter guys! I have been like Drawing a lot of Beetlejuice fanart lmao it's been super fun. I'm gonna work on ch 5 soon-ish, and this came out a few days later than anticipated because I also was waiting on a friend to beta read the chapter before posting.

"Adam, Barbara, I'm telling you that this crystal would just bring such positive energy to the room!" Delia exclaimed while throwing her arms into the air in dramatic fashion. Barbara followed close on Delia's heels as the younger, deceased woman clasped her hands together.

"Delia I understand you're having another one of your 'inspiration episodes'. How about we just decorate the top of the fireplace with some of the crystals. Instead of having a giant one placed in the middle of the room?" A strained smile creased Barbara's lips as she tried to compromise with her friend. Adam gave a short nod to his wife's idea.

"I agree with Barbara. It would look a lot more balanced than just having it in the middle of the room." Adam motioned to the whole room as he gave a small smile to Delia. She looked them both over then peered to the fireplace.

"You know, I think you're right Barbara! It probably would get tedious walking around the crystal every time we need to sit on the couch. I'll need to look into which crystals I want to put up there." Delia rubbed her chin in thought. Barbara and Adam exhaled a breath neither needed to hold. Charles had been sitting off to the side and gave the two a subtle thumbs up. The older man's attention turned to the creaking footsteps of the familiar combat boots that came from upstairs. A soft smile crept upon him as he gave Lydia a nod.

"Did you need something, Lydia?" Charles set down the book that was in his hand as he stood up from the chair he had been in. Lydia jumped down the last two steps then looked up to her father.

"I just wanted to go on a walk around the neighborhood. I'll be back." Lydia began heading to the door after giving him a short wave. Charles briefly gazed down to his watch before turning fully to look back to her.

"You have your phone on you, right?" He inquired.

"Yes, dad. Don't worry so much." Lydia waved him off. The young teen gave her goodbyes to the others then made her way out the door. That was easier than she thought it would be. Well, it wasn't like she was going across town. Her dad had been a bit more protective of her ever since the events that followed their move to their new house. Always making sure she had her phone on her in case anything happened. She began to tread down the steps of their front porch. She made sure to be careful of her footing across the unruly grass that needed to be tended to. A gust of wind blew by as she felt the pressure whip around her back. Lydia shuddered while gripping onto her arms.

"Chuck must be the trusting type, huh?" Beetlejuice chuckled. The demon hovered nearby her and gave her a thumbs up.

"I mean telling my family I'm going out for a walk isn't really that suspicious." Lydia shrugged. "So.. about that stuff from earlier." Beetlejuice gave her a hum in response as the two slowly walked down the hill. "Did you actually go look for your dad? Or were you just being dramatic?" Beetlejuice wrinkled his nose.

"Well, yeah. I just wanted to make you feel guilty. Getting sent back to the Netherworld right now is not on my to-do list. Why the hell would I even go look for that deadbeat?" He grunted then kicked his feet to the ground to float away from it. Lydia jumped over a big rock jutting out of the dirt as she watched him.

"So what exactly were you doing there? Did you get in trouble at all for the stuff we did months ago?" Lydia asked. The demon crossed his arms, his eyes traveling away from her.

"They had me holed up in some shithole for two months in 'breather time' I guess. Time works a helluva lot differently in the Netherworld. It dragged the fuck on when they put me on paperwork duty. It was a temp job to keep me there for whatever reason. That's what I was up to for the last couple of months. I don't want to talk about it." He grumbled. Small streaks of reds, blues, and yellows bled into his green hair. Lydia decided it was best not to push the moody demon for now. She was curious why he seemed to be cutting her so short on details yet knew she had to let him open upon it in his own time. Lydia still found it odd to even herself she wanted to work things out with him. Like being around him at all. She figured it was just still wanting real closure with him. Would she keep up hanging out with him like this? She wasn't sure. It was just somewhere to start at least. Lydia moved to playfully punch at the older man's arm.

"Fine, fine. At least you're not stuck there anymore." She waved him off. "Now you get to hear that beautiful sound again." Lydia gave him a wicked smile, Beetlejuice lighting up to her words.

"Now you're talking. Let's go scare the shit out of some chumps!" He gave a sharp-toothed grin then shortly after moved behind her. Wrapping his arms under her armpits he then lifted her up into the air. He flew down to the bottom of the hill after making sure there weren't any breathers that would notice them. Lydia let out a small yelp followed after with a shriek of laughter.

"Don't you dare drop me!" She clung to his arms and gave a kick of her legs. Beetlejuice snorted.

"Please, you weigh practically nothing, Lyds. Thought you wanted to try that trusting crap out more. This is a good trust exercise if you ask me!" He snickered as he flew them over to the closest house then landed them both down at the side of it behind some bushes. Lydia gave him a small scowl when she turned to him as she fixed her dress.

"Give me a heads up next time at least. Asshole." Lydia scolded. She turned to look at the house next to them. Thoughts of what kind of scare they should go with began to run through her head. Should they just wing it? Or come up with a solid plan. Last time they scared together it all just kind of happened naturally. Maybe they should just go with their guts. It would be nice to blow some steam off doing this for an hour or two after. Therapy helped her with more things than she thought it would after slowly opening up. Though this was a thrill that really helped her let loose. Especially with the stress of school, she was going through at the moment. Beetlejuice seemed to notice her overthinking it since he gave her a hardy slap on the back. She grunted then shot him a glare.

"Don't overthink it, kid! Let's just see if the old bat is home first." He smirked at her. Giving her a signal with a wave of his hand the two approached the windows quietly. Beetlejuice phased his head through it then scanned the room. A light was on upstairs so that must be where she was. It would take a good minute or two for her to answer the door if they decided to get Lydia inside the more legal way. He couldn't exactly phase her through the wall as he could. If she was dead that would be another story. However, he wasn't planning on letting her join him on the side of the deceased any time soon. He could always just teleport her inside as well. He was so engrossed with his thoughts he hadn't even hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. He noticed last second when they echoed louder down the steps and made himself invisible once more. Phasing out he pushed Lydia's head down below the window so she wouldn't be seen.

"Hey!" She frowned then swatted his hand away. He hushed her as he narrowed his eyes. Shit, maybe it was the wrong house? Coming down the stairs instead was a man who was definitely younger than the old lady he saw here just yesterday. Either way, they could still scare him. He looked like one of those overly paranoid and religious types. An obvious comb-over on a very pale head. Khakis that made even the ones Adam wear look like they were in fashion. A pale-blue plaid shirt. This man was probably the dullest breather he ever laid eyes on. Which was saying quite a bit. Beetlejuice ducked below after taking note of which direction in the house he moved to.

"Alright, new plan. Either the old bag has another breather living with her or this is someone else's house. We can still work with this. Old bastard looks like one of those old testament fans." He snorted. Lydia crossed her arms.

"I don't remember him living here. I could've sworn it was an old lady, too. I remember dad talking to her more than once this year." Lydia looked up at the window then sighed. "I mean, it doesn't matter either way I guess. I want to scare someone today. Alright. So how do we get me in there?" She swung her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the front of the house. Beetlejuice stroked his chin.

"That's what I was mulling over. I could dress you up to look creepy. Go with the ol' ghost kid scare, teleport you in." Lydia's expression brightened at this new revelation.

"Wait you can teleport yourself places?" Lydia questioned. She couldn't help but let her curiosity peak through.

"Within reason, yeah. I still can't exactly go much further than this damn neighborhood at the moment when I'm summoned. Since the only graveyard around is the one on the other side of your house. I'd need to be invisible to look for another one to go through." He explained while periodically peering through the window. Lydia was intrigued by what limitations his powers held. Lydia tapped her hand on her thigh in thought.

"That why you didn't just up and leave for good? You're stuck here?" Lydia questioned, giving a tilt of her head. Beetlejuice clicked his tongue while his fingers flexed into the palms of his hands as he fidgeted in place.

"Listen if you want a rundown of how I work I'll give you the short version. When I'm summoned directly from the Netherworld I'm stuck with the breather that did it until I can get another sap to summon me. It's some complicated bullshit that goes along with my little shtick." He rambled on. Lydia crossed her legs while sitting on the ground now.

"I remember you saying before ghosts couldn't leave the houses they stay in. How the hell were you able to leave after I summoned you a week ago? Thought sandworms would be waiting out there for you. I actually wondered that when I woke up for my nap." She rested her cheek against her hand. Beetlejuice groaned. Why were kids so fucking nosy. He rubbed his hands over his face as he thought over his next few words.

"Yes, okay, yeah. Typically I can't leave the damn house. The normal way at least. I'm not really housebound as much as ghosts are since demons work on a different set of rules. If I walk out a door I'd be worm chow. If I however can see a graveyard within distance, or if there is one at least sort-of-nearby I can just fly out the window. It's like a way station for demons. I can travel through more when I'm not summoned. Invisible. I also can travel further distances when summoned if I left the Netherworld the way I usually do. However since you summoned me straight out of it; I'm stuck with you until once again, someone else says my name." He was standing now, pacing back and forth as he went listing off how things worked. "Once I leave the graveyard I can also go around to the houses in the area freely without worrying about those worms. I can't leave the neighborhood itself though." Beetlejuice huffed as his gaze traveled back down to Lydia.

"Sooo. What if someone who summons you after me says your name three times again. Do you just become invisible once more or go back to the Netherworld?" Lydia got back up to her feet. Beetlejuice frowned a bit.

"Honestly. Not too sure. I think I just become invisible again. What, you planning on getting Chuck or Delia to do that?" His face scrunched up as he got defensive again. Lydia shook her head with an annoyed sigh.

"No, I told you I wouldn't do that. I promised. So long as you don't try murdering me or my family then we're good." Lydia tapped a finger to her chin. "Okay. One last question then we figure out how to scare this guy. You said you can make me look all creepy. How do we do that?" Beetlejuice rubbed the palms of his hands together as he let out a wicked cackle.

"Leave that to me." A snap of his fingers and Lydia's dress appeared more weathered and tattered, her hair becoming disheveled. He gave another snap as a makeup kit appeared in his hands. He gently grabbed her face with one hand, as another arm grew out of his back to start applying the makeup while his other hand held the case. Lydia stared at the third arm growing out of his back. "Little makeup here, there. Make you paler. Gotta put more bags under your eyes annnd... few scars here." His tongue stuck out of the corner of his lips as he concentrated on his work.

"Done!"

Lydia pulled from him when his hands moved away. With a flick of his wrist, the makeup box was replaced with a mirror he promptly showed to Lydia. She moved the pads of her fingers over her cheek while gazing into it. She definitely looked a lot more dead. He somehow made her eyes look sunken in as well. He was pretty good with makeup to her surprise. She kind of wished he made her look more gruesome and mangled. Oh well, maybe for the next scare. She was getting as antsy as he probably was and wanted to jump into it already. Speaking of Beetlejuice, he seemed to be staring at her as if expecting something. Oh.

"It looks pretty good, Beej. I look creepy." Lydia grinned. Beetlejuice puffed out his chest with pride then held out his hand for her. She grimaced a little. He definitely hadn't washed his hands in ever. Definitely the same gross, creepy old guy she first met. Lydia could grin and bare this. Taking his hand she gave him a nod. He pulled her close.

"So I've never actually teleported a breather before. It might be a little overwhelming...even if it's just literally inside the house next to us." He gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Oh well. Let's just jump into it!" He turned to look inside of the window. Lydia was starting to have second thoughts about this. Too late, however, she felt a wind pressure engulf her as her other hand clung to his arm. In a flash of blinding light she felt weightless. Dizziness washed over Lydia for a moment as she closed her eyes tightly. A second later she felt a hand gently patting her shoulder followed by a quiet voice.

"Hey. Kid. You good?" Beetlejuice muttered. Lydia let go of him then grabbed at her head.

"Yeah. You were right. It was kind of overwhelming. I'm fine, though." She reassured him. Her eyes traveled around the room. They really were inside of the house. The teen couldn't help the rush of excitement bubble inside of her. She didn't feel like she could be in danger since having a demon as her partner was guaranteed her safety. Especially since he's saved her life once before. Though at the same time the thought of getting caught was kind of exhilarating as much as it was worrying. She gently patted the back of her hand against his arm.

"So what now?" Lydia asked in a hushed tone. She was smart enough to not let the person or possibly multiple people living there know of their presence quite yet.

Beetlejuice studied the house. The sun was starting to set more in the sky. Good, this could work for him. He quietly motioned for her to stay low and follow him as best she could. He moved to peer around the corner. First, he figured it would be good to start to get rid of the other lights. With a clap of his hand, the lights all began to dim and flicker. He had to make a good show of it to set the unease in for the occupants of the home. Then all of the light bulbs on the first floor burnt out. A surprised grunt followed by a short string of cursing followed suit. Lydia tried not to snicker while Beetlejuice giddily bounced in place. He rolled his shoulders then looked over to Lydia.

"Okay. I got him warmed up. I think he's the only one in here. So he doesn't think you're an intruder, I'll do some classic shadow scares to get him on edge before you come out. Do whatever comes naturally for ya." Beetlejuice turned to place his hands against the walls. Lydia took a step back to watch in awe as shadows shot out from under them. They bled up into the walls then scattered to the living room down the hall. Some peeled off of the wall to make inhuman long strides around. They were all shaped like him as well. As dusk began to set in all around the house the shadows became more inhuman in form then all slithered out of view. Lydia watched until the last one was out of sight. She then slowly started creeping down the hallway as quietly as she could. Beetlejuice had already phased through a wall off ahead of her. She could hear the pounding of her own heart. Her breath stilled. A panicked shuffling could be heard followed by some clattering of items in the other room. The man was worked up. Perfect for her. Lydia changed her expression the best she could to something eerier than slid her fingers along the corner of the doorway in front of her. Slowly she crept around the corner while jerking her body and making a low moan that echoed into a clicking sound.

"What in the name of Christ-!!" A terrified older man stood before her, a lamp in his hand that he gripped close to his chest. His eyes were wide as he trembled in place. Unable to make a move to even attempt an attack on her Lydia seized this opportunity to scream at the top of her lungs at him while dragging one of her feet behind her. The guy let out the loudest, blood-curdling scream he could muster then slammed the lamp on the ground. He started to run around to the other exit of the room only to body slam straight into Beetlejuice. Who appeared to have made himself noticeably quite larger. Spider legs were growing out of his back and he had multiple eyes opening over every visible bit of skin on his undead body. The man had fallen back onto his rear as he tried backing up from the demon while Beetlejuice dislocated his arms and made a swing at him. The guy just barely managed to dodge him before scurrying on all fours underneath a hovering Beetlejuice. Within seconds the two heard the front door slam as he screamed all the way out of the house. Lydia and Beetlejuice moments later both erupted in a gleeful fit of laughter.

"Holy crap! That was so much fun!" Lydia grabbed at her stomach as she cackled. Beetlejuice shifted his body back to normal as he wiped at a faux-tear.

"I think he legit pissed himself when you came around the corner and made those noises at him! It was great!" Beetlejuice held up his hand to give her a high-five, Lydia surprising even herself, reciprocated it. Both of them grinned wide at the other. "Ahhh shit. We should do some more!" Beetlejuice clapped his hands together. Before Lydia could respond, a repetitive pinging sound erupted from the pocket of her dress. Lydia heaved a sigh then pulled it out.

"I'd love to, however, looks like dad's telling me to come home." Lydia gave an annoyed huff. Beetlejuice frowned as he gave her a 'tsk'. He hovered over to the hallway then looked straight out to the front door.

"Well, looks like guy high-tailed it out of here. Think you can walk out the door. Sure you can't just skip curfew and act like a true rebellious teen?" He peered over his shoulder to her. Lydia considered this for a moment then gave a shake of her head.

"No can do. Normally I would, just... I don't want to get grounded and miss out on more scaring this week." Lydia shrugged as she walked towards the front door. Beetlejuice perked up a little.

"Scare more?" He smirked.

"Yeah, I only got a little taste of scaring again today. I want more." Lydia playfully shoved him then wiped the makeup off her face. "Oh. Could you change my dress back? I actually like this one." The teen grabbed at the edge of her dress and picked it up for emphasis. Beetlejuice snapped his fingers, the dress glowing then shortly after returned to how it once was.

"Alright. So. Same time tomorrow?" He grinned at her. "I'll skulk nearby to check in on you earlier in the day so we don't have to cut it short."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Tomorrow I don't have school either so it works." Lydia gave him a nod. She closed the door behind them when she walked out after making sure no one would notice her. "I'll meet you outside tomorrow. I don't want the Maitlands to see you on the roof." She held out her hand for him. Beetlejuice took it then gave it a shake.

"Deal!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next chapter is gonna be short-ish since it's more of an intermission of sorts of the plot but also some cute bonding with Beej trying to be more patient with Lydia and Lydia surprisingly asking Beetlejuice for advice on something.


	5. Solidarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new dilemma has risen in Lydia that she takes to the only one she can talk to about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CH 5 is here and I'm still tryin to work on my writing. I'm happy to have my friend for a beta reader because sentence structure is something I struggle with. Prepare for a short, cute chapter before a bigger chapter that is next!

Another day of school, another day of Lydia having complex feelings bubble up in her stomach. This was getting borderline exhausting with all the thoughts she kept bottled up inside. Even though she had become more comfortable with her therapist, she still wasn't sure if she wanted to just spill her guts out about these thoughts. Closing the front door behind her, she swung her backpack off while exhaling a long groan. No one was home yet except for the Maitlands, of course. They were probably upstairs since she didn't see them after scanning the living room. Rummaging through her backpack on the table she pulled out things she needed for homework then sluggishly retreated upstairs. School wasn't engaging and often times left her yearning for more. The Maitlands had recently found a way to help make her learning more simulating through their ghostly powers. They were still learning themselves. They tried learning more from the Handbook for the Recently Deceased. However, as Adam put it, it 'read like radio instructions'. Lydia didn't have too much of a hard time understanding it personally. Though that probably was because she loved deciphering the nonsensical text.

Should she let the Maitlands know she's home?

She usually would announce herself. Yet, that feeling wasn't leaving her stomach. It dampening her mood. Lydia didn't want to bother the ghostly couple with her problem. Since she still didn't understand it entirely herself. It was days like these she wished her mom was still alive. Regret wove itself in her every once in a while for leaving the Netherworld. Missing her chance to reconnect with her mother again. She knew deep down it was for the best. She would've also liked it if Delia and her dad had waited for a while before getting wed. She understood though they felt the fleetingness of life and wanted to make the best of it as long as they both were breathing. That would be another can of worms for Lydia to tackle another day. Lydia tossed her things on her bed when she entered her room. Closing the door behind her then took off her shoes. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her when she walked over to her mirror and gazed at herself.

"Why are feelings stupid..." She muttered. Grabbing a hair tie off of her stand, she ran her fingers through the raven locks tying it up.

"That's because you breathers have too many feelings; It makes shit complicated." A gravely voice chimed in. Lydia flinched for a moment then turned to scowl at the older man.

"I told you that you couldn't come into the house yet!" She snarled at him. Lydia began rubbing the pads of her forefinger and middle in circles against the temple of her head. Beetlejuice snorted then crossed his arms.

"You ain't exactly the boss of me kid. I do what I want. Within reason of your dumb rules. Besides, I was bored waiting in the stupid cemetery. There weren't any breathers to mess with today so I couldn't get anyone else to say my name." Beetlejuice rambled on, giving Lydia a shrug. The young teen threw herself face first on her bed. She thought over for a moment how risky this was.

"You didn't let Barabara and Adam see you, right?" Lydia questioned, sitting up a little on her elbows. Beetlejuice hummed while pulling his eyes out from their sockets.

"Nope, not a peep!" He snickered while tossing them in the air like a pair of die. Lydia looked on unamused before rolling on her back to stare up at the ceiling. The demon popped his eyes back in.

"Oh boy, are you having one of those angsty teen moments again? Am I gonna have to leave while you recite goth poetry or some shit?" He floated up from the ground then whipped over to her. Lydia inhaled deeply before giving a loud groan.

"Go away if you're gonna be an ass." Lydia reached out for a pillow to grab. Beetlejuice tensed up as he knew it was meant for his face. He deflated a little when he saw her hug then bury herself against it. Just as the teen hated when he would get moody, he felt the same about her. Though it was strange, the past three months now that they've been hanging out he has started to feel something he never had before. Was it that gross thing called empathy? He sighed deeply while busying himself with picking at his nails. This was going to require some finesse.

"Alright, you twisted my arm Lyds. What's bugging ya? What can your ol' pal Mr. Betelboose do to, ugh, 'help'?" He peered from the corner of his eye to see if she'd budge. She did not. He did get a grunt in response. Some progress was a win for him. Lydia flailed her legs a little as a muffled groan rose from her. The demon patiently waited for her to speak.

"As bizarre as it is to say.." Lydia dug her fingernails into her pillow as she pulled it away from her face finally. Her features scrunched up, her lips pursed. Relaxing after a moment of what looked like deep contemplation from Beetlejuice's perspective she finally spoke. "I think you might be the only person I can talk to about this." Lydia softly spoke.

Now, this was interesting.

She was actually being vulnerable to him. He only saw her do that once and that was when she summoned him back from the Netherworld. That was because of everything that built up from before. This seemed to be a new dilemma on the young girl's mind. He waved his hand to let her know she could continue.

"Beej. When did you discover that you had feelings for guys, too?" Lydia drawled out while shiftily gazing around the room. Anywhere other than making eye contact. Beetlejuice stroked his scruffy chin while trying to figure out what she meant by that. Was there a boy she liked? Did his stoic bratty friend actually have sappy feelings as well?

Wait.

"You're asking how I knew I was into more than just women? Well, first off, there is one thing ya gotta know about the Netherworld. Most folks swing both if not all ways." Beetlejuice jokingly conjured up a baseball bat and took multiple swings in different directions with it. It earned him a snort which he grinned at before continuing.

"It kind of came as an easy realization for me. I know that the stupid shit you breathers go about here on the mortal plane carries off into the Netherworld some times. It doesn't stick for long cause who the hell are you gonna complain to? No one." He rolled his eyes remembering all of the bigoted folks that would come through and get their panties in a twist at how the rest of the Netherworld was. While he wasn't the biggest fan of staying there all the time it wasn't always horrible there. The world of the living was more of a party for him.

"How did you really know, though?" Lydia hugged the pillow closer to her while sitting up. Beetlejuice plopped himself onto the bed next to her. Lydia had a surprisingly smart melon in that goth head of hers. He was curious why she was doubting herself so much.

"Probably when I made out with that one famous painter." He picked at his teeth. Lydia arched a brow.

"Which one?"

"You know me, scarecrow, don't kiss and tell." He grinned at her. Lydia gently smacked his knee.

"Oh BS, you always name drop famous people." She snorted. Beetlejuice snickered, moving his hands behind him then slid back more on the bed.

"You're right, I just don't remember the guy's name right now. Listen. I guess I get it. I've been observing you breathers for almost a millennia. Feelings are gross. But I know when it comes to this stuff it can be hard. Especially for kids. If there's something ya gotta blab to me about." He tilted his head in her direction while making sure he had her attention. She gave a slow nod for him to continue, "Then I'm listening."

Lydia inhaled deeply. This was nerve-racking. She just didn't know how to even express herself.

"I... I might have." Lydia banged her head into the soft pillow and gave a small whine. "I might.. like a girl at school." She spoke barely above a whisper. Beetlejuice leaned over since he could barely hear her. Lydia wrinkled her nose at the smell yet allowed him to do so.

"What was that kid? Gotta speak up." He gave a coy smile. Lydia scowled at him then looked away.

"I said... That I might like a girl at school. I'm not repeating myself again." Her cheeks were heating up at how embarrassing this was. Not so much expressing her feelings. It was more talking about a damn school crush to her stupid demon friend she was starting to make amends with. She looked over to him after a moment of making sure he wasn't going to tease her then noticed him grinning wide.

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said. HA. Of course, you're into girls! Look at you, you're tiny, snarky all the time and goth." Beetlejuice yammered on as he elbowed her side.

"Ha-ha, is this amusing to you or something? I just spilled my damn guts out." Lydia frowned, her cheeks flushed. Beetlejuice shook his head.

"Eh, maybe a little, I just find it funny that widdle Lydia has a crush. Always figured you were too feral and hated people too much for that." He pinched her cheek. She was close to snapping her teeth at his fingers. She opted for batting his hand away. Lydia wiped her cheek with her sleeve. He snickered in response then rested his elbows on his knees.

"Call me 'widdle' again and I'll throw you off the roof as I did before." She stuck her tongue out at him then took note of him smirking at her. "What?"

"Nuthin'. Just weird seeing you actually act like a teenager instead of your usual dry, deadpan self." He patted her hard on the back to which she grunted at him. "Good for you! Better to be your real self than locking that shit away. Dolores and Chuck'll probably be. I don't know, what's that word you breathers use now? 'Woke'? About this. I know the Maitlands will be. Ugh, they are just soooo supportive it's disgusting." He gagged at his last sentence to which Lydia rolled her eyes.

"I don't know if I'm going to tell anyone. At least not yet." Lydia softly spoke as she played with the pillow resting in her lap. Beej quirked a brow at her then snorted. He gave a soft bap on her head with his fist.

"Listen. I don't normally give pep talks that aren't about scaring, murder or crap. I guess I can try to understand. Daphne might be too intrusive about it. Chuck might just be super awkward about it and say something embarrassing. The other nerds are definitely gonna dote on you." Beetlejuice picked at his teeth. "Eh, take your time if you wanna. Just know that the Netherworld when ya shed your meat-sack body is gonna be fine with who or what yer into. Fuck what anyone else thinks." He let out a long yawn then stretched a little. "Trying to be nice makes me wanna take a nap or doing something nasty. Or hurl. Can't decide, this is gross."

Lydia looked over the demon while taking note of his words. She snickered at him dramatically pretending to upheave then shoved him.

"Stop being gross for five minutes." Lydia snorted then sat back on her bed finally letting go of her pillow. "Honestly.. My stomach is in a knot still. Part of me kind of wants to tell her however I don't want people to.." Midway through Lydia trailed off into a soft whisper. "I just don't want more of a reason for people to target me at school. I can handle myself for the most part. Just kind of hard when they gang up on me." She tugged at the edge of her school uniform. Without skipping a beat Beetlejuice responded.

"Want me to kill 'em for ya? I mean, if they're that big of lil assholes I'd probably be doing their parents a favor." Beetlejuice grinned while taking out a knife from his sleeve. "I'll 'cut' them down to size!" He cackled while swishing the knife around. Lydia ducked down then snorted.

"No. Murder isn't the answer to everything, BJ. Those girls are jerks but they aren't the root of the problem. Kids don't naturally act like bigoted brats. It's probably coming from their parents or something, to begin with." Lydia grabbed his arm to make him stop swinging the knife. Beetlejuice clicked his tongue then thought over what she said.

"Alright. Kill the parents and the brats. Two for two-plus no sad little orphans!" Beetlejuice hovered off the bed in glee while throwing his arms up into the air. "It'll be a real scream Lyds! Just let me loose on 'em! Come on! I haven't killed anyone since Juno!" He flexed his fingers while looking to her like an overjoyed child in a candy store. Lydia raised her hand up with a shake of her head.

"Didn't I just say murder wasn't the answer to everything?" She answered dryly while quirking a brow at him.

"I don't know, you murdered me pretty fast to try and kick my ass into the Netherworld," Beetlejuice muttered. Lydia inhaled deeply through her nostrils then slapped his thigh with her pillow.

"I'm serious. No murdering people on my behalf. I appreciate the enthusiasm but I don't want the cops on me. Making people suffer is more fun anyway." Lydia dropped the pillow then stretched her legs out. Beetlejuice floated back down to the bed then gave a little pout.

"Bah. Thought you were more fun than that, kid. Though torture also sounds like a blast." He stroked his scruffy chin. The goth teen kicked her feet against the edge of the bed.

"I was thinking more about pranking." She chuckled. "You know.. I might try talking to that girl. Just not yet." Lydia lulled her head against her shoulder to peer back at the demon. "I hate to stroke that big ego of yours. I wanna tell you that I kind of appreciate you talking to me about this. It's nice to talk to someone else who is attracted to the same gender." She took out her phone then opened the browser.

"Plus I see myself as more than one gender. Though that's a topic for another time, kid." He waved his hand as a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Lydia swung her head up to stare at him.

"Oh; does that mean you're genderfluid?"

"Gender what now?" Beetlejuice quizzically stared at her while scratching the top of his scalp. Lydia quickly brought something up on her phone then showed him.

"You identify as more than one gender. See?" Lydia began scrolling through a website about the LGBTQ+ community while Beetlejuice crossed his arms and tried reading over it.

"Huh. Well shit. Guess so? Then what's being attracted to more than one gender?" He quickly snatched the phone out of her hand to look over it more.

"Well, that is a broader category. You could be either Bisexual or Pansexual." She sat up on her knees as she pressed the pad of her forefinger into the screen. Slowly she scrolled back up on the browser and pointed out the two. Beetlejuice hummed then plopped the phone back into her lap.

"Learn something new every day!" Beetlejuice grinned. The two froze when they heard the familiar voice of a woman echoing through the house.

"Lydia?? Are you home? We can get started on your homework if you want!" Barbara's hand began phasing through the door. With that Beetlejuice flung himself out the window as Lydia swatted grave dirt he left behind on her bed.

"Coming Barbara!" Lydia called.

She couldn't keep hiding him forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a chapter I've been looking forward to since I love the headcanon of Lydia as a lesbian, and it's been confirmed that musical!Juice is pansexual! I can't remember where I heard about Beej being genderfluid (whether from one of the writers or from Alex Brightman himself), however I also adore that as well for musical!Juice.


End file.
